Aventurien
by Nekocin
Summary: [AU, Sidefic 1 to Haima, YBRcentric] and some unrequited love for the most part. But definitely something around Haima only Ryou is now the rookie of the station. Which means this story took place a few years before Haima
1. Prologue

Title: Aventurien  
  
Author: Nekocin  
  
Email: Neko_cin_6@hotmail.com  
  
Genres: Various--- Action and Romance as main genres (I hope Romance wouldn't be so screwed up .).  
  
Type: AU (meaning no duel cards and such games . I apologize for those who wanted a challenging fic where those two will challenge each other)  
  
Anime: Yu-gi-oh (I'm surprised that I find this anime quite interesting and refreshing)  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai (might get a bit yaoi . Don't know yet.) Violence. Maybe some OOC. Here in this chapter none.  
  
Pairings: Yami Bakura+Ryou/Ryou+Yami Bakura *still thinking about which one should be seme and which one should be uke* and some others implied. Here in this chapter none.  
  
Rated: PG-13, but might get R ::shrugs:: (See "Haima" too)  
  
Disclaimer: Anime in question doesn't belong to me. Never was. Never will. (My poor excuse for writing a disclaimer)  
  
Additional notes: Side-fic 1 to "Haima"  
  
Author's notes:   
  
@_@ I've no idea what made me want to write this. Maybe it's because of the fact there are so very few Yami Bakura+Ryou/Ryou+Yami Bakura scenes in my other fic "Haima" since that fic is Seto+Jou/Jou+Seto-centric.   
  
Besides this is a side-fic, it sort of complement with "Haima". I'm not sure if one have to read "Haima" first just to understand this... -_-;; I think you don't have to since this story plays a part BEFORE "Haima" and I think later on I will weave the "Haima" timeline in to the story.   
  
Besides this pairing is kind of cute in my opinion ^_^ and I'm trying my hand here with a difficult relationship 9_9.  
  
:) Anyways welcome to "Aventurien"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Prologue  
  
He watched the other children play bandits and police. With his wide brown eyes he scanned their sunny features; sparkling eyes, big smiles and energy seeping out of their limbs once they ran after one another.  
  
A sudden pang of jealousy gripped his heart and he silently envied their happy life. He didn't blame his misfortune for being the only child of two hard-working Archeologists.  
  
"Ryou-kun! Where are you? Are you done loading the stuff?!" Mrs. Bakura called out, snapping the little boy out of his silent envies.   
  
"Here, okaa-san!" Ryou answered and hurriedly hauled the box into the family car.   
  
His parents were taking him for another excursion in a foreign country. However, being eighth-year-old among a lot of adults had made Ryou even more aware of how lonely he was.   
  
The car went out of the garage.  
  
Ryou looked out of his window and took one last look at the neighbour's children. They never did become friends because of his looks... long white hair and big brown eyes didn't match in their eyes.   
  
He sighed sadly and closed his eyes to rest a bit. The ride to the airport would take a long day for them to reach immediately.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Ryou-kun, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid..." Mrs. Bakura whispered in his ear.   
  
He snapped his eyes open when he heard some screams. The eighth-year-old suddenly noticed his position.   
  
They were sitting in the plane. His mother was cradling his body and whispered soothingly in his ear.   
  
What's going on?  
  
"Shut up! SHUT UP! Shut the bitch up!" someone in the background snarled. Ryou could faintly feel his mother shivering under the man's shout.   
  
Who's shouting?   
  
What's going on?  
  
He didn't understand why everyone was huddled together and why they were whimpering.   
  
A gun was suddenly pointed at him. He knew it was a gun and also felt that it was very dangerous. He swallowed and felt his mother's body stiffen.   
  
Ryou stared wide-eyed at the terrorist. As expected the guy wore a mask to hide his true identity.   
  
"Is he your son?" The man asked.  
  
"Y-yes, s-sir..." Ryou heard his mother weakly reply.  
  
Before he knew it, he found himself being hauled away from his mother's protective embrace. Ryou let out a startled gasp and his mother broke into hysterics. "Please... please... don't! He's my only son!..." Mrs. Bakura cried out incoherently.  
  
Fear crept through his spine and Ryou glanced fearfully at the other passengers. His wide brown eyes threatened to burn within the tears.  
  
Suddenly he caught sight of a pair of narrowed brown eyes. The owner of those eyes looked strikingly familiar as his white locks framed his delicate face. The eyes only had made Ryou realize the other boy wasn't afraid.   
  
It gave Ryou some comfort that those eyes showed no fear.   
  
The narrowed brown eyes suddenly widened when Ryou kept staring at him in awe. The owner immediately flushed and looked away.  
  
Ryou blinked.  
  
Before he knew it, he felt the terrorist being taken down. Someone had attacked the terrorists unexpectedly and took the guns away. Ryou was quickly passed into someone's arms.  
  
"Everything is going to be alright..." some soothing words were whispered into his ear and Ryou felt being carried away. All he could think of was those fearless brown eyes...   
  
Something flashed in front of him.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A pair of curious brown eyes watched as Ryou was being carried away. The owner of those eye softened slightly when he remembered how the other had looked at him.   
  
The other boy had lost his fear as soon as he saw his narrowed brown eyes.   
  
He seemed fascinated by the other's big brown eyes and felt his face heat up. Damn! Why must the little hostage look so cute?   
  
He wondered if they'll ever meet again...   
  
*.*.*.*.* End prologue *.*.*.*.*  
  
End notes:  
  
okaa-san: mother   
  
Ryou-kun -- the "-kun" suffix here is used because Ryou is younger.   
  
^_^ I know the title is just plain weird. Even "Haima" sounds weird. "Aventurien" is derived from another word I've found in the same book where I've found "Haima". ^-^ Don't worry about what it really means. You might surely see it once this story starts to develop. But then again if this story ever ends I might put some ending notes. ^-^  
  
Okay, this is just a flashback of Ryou's childhood. Once this story starts I might put some flashbacks here and there... 9_9 But I'm not sure if I work with .doc or .hml stuff to put some of those html tags stuff. And each chapter isn't as short as this one so don't worry _.  
  
-_-;; Ugh... the beginning notes are a bit too long, but try to ignore my endless babble here and there.  
  
Edit: Hehehe ^^;; My bad. Thanks for pointing that out Misura ^^.  
  
=^_^=cin 


	2. Chapter 1: Get to the

Title: Aventurien  
  
Author: Nekocin  
  
Email: Neko_cin_6@hotmail.com  
  
Genres: Various--- Action and Romance as main genres (I hope Romance wouldn't be so screwed up .).  
  
Type: AU   
  
Anime: Yu-gi-oh   
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai (might get a bit yaoi . Don't know yet.) Violence. Maybe some OOC. Here in this chapter bad description, vague stuff, OoC-nes, time lapse *starts naming off a lof of disturbances from a list*.   
  
Pairings: Yami Bakura+Ryou/Ryou+Yami Bakura and some others implied. Here in this chapter hints of Malik+Yami Bakura. Use a maginifying glass ^_O  
  
Rated: PG-13, but might get R ::shrugs:: (See "Haima" too)  
  
Disclaimer: Anime in question doesn't belong to me. Never was. Never will. (My poor excuse for writing a disclaimer)  
  
Additional notes: Side-fic 1 to "Haima"  
  
Author's notes:   
  
The beginning is slow... very slow I might say. And might be a bit vague. But please don't leave this story yet. It's the beginning. What should one expect? Racing horses? ^_^; But anyways on with the story.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 1: Get to the .  
  
9:00 AM  
  
Big, wide brown eyes looked at the mirror. His white hair had almost reached over his back. The once childish-looking face had matured a lot; it was outlined by strong cheekbones. For someone like him who must have been sunburnt before, his skin stayed oddly pale. It could even be mistaken for pearly white.   
  
After all those years of not having real fun in his childhood, Ryou still has those boyish charmes. His eyes for example. They made him look like a little kid; so young, so naive, untainted by hardships... dewy-eyed.  
  
But on the contrary he's a legal adult now.  
  
He adjusted his black uniform and tried to flatten his hair. It was almost time.  
  
"This is it, Ryou" he said to his reflection nervously and took a deep breath.   
  
Not long afterwards, Ryou hurried out of the men's room.   
  
Outside a grand ordinairy-looking building a lot of people were gathering near a stage; The graduation ceremony was about to begin. The graduated ones in their black uniforms quickly made ways towards empty seats in the center of the arranged chairs.  
  
His fellow-classmen were chattering nervously about their examination results. What if they hadn't got enough points for certain stations? What if they were going to be posted somewhere in some secluded area because of their insufficient marks? [1]  
  
Ryou felt their chatters growing on to him. He was getting nervous too; maybe even excited? Just a few more minutes before they would talk about the results and such.   
  
Ryou had come to a conclusion what he wanted to become: an officer.   
  
Suddenly something triggered his mind about having forgotten a-long-time memory. A memory which was worth to have, because that's what had motivated him to choose for the police academy instead of studying for some University abroad.  
  
He could still remember how he had been seized from his mother. But thankfully someone had saved him from the 'evil' man.   
  
Ryou chuckled mentally.   
  
It had been such a long time ago that he forgot what had happened in the meantime when he was held hostage. Hmmm...  
  
He dismissed the fact that he had been fearless... but frowned at the memory; why wasn't he scared?   
  
It was too vague to remember.   
  
After all those years he marveled at the idea of doing something close to home. Sure traveling abroad with his parents was cool..., but he would always miss being at home, doing 'normal' stuff; enclosing himself from the adventurous travels with his parents.  
  
Becoming an officer was something Ryou couldn't even understand. Maybe it was the fact he could help people in that position (as an officer) with the law in his hands? (not likely)   
  
Or it could've been the reason that once becoming an officer one might have signed his own death contract with Shinigami... The god of Death.  
  
"Bakura Ryou!" Someone announced his name and other people began to clap.   
  
Ryou blinked confusedly and smiled sheepishly for not paying attention as he headed towards the platform. The director of the Police Academy handed him his diploma after he'd saluted politely. He could faintly hear the announcer give away his scores on his exams in the background.   
  
Ryou smiled shyly at the crowd.   
  
He'd been too busy with his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the graduation ceremony beginning. Damn! He'd missed the opening scheme. The others had said the opening schemes were always fun... oh well, maybe he could catch the recorded version of the opening scheme.  
  
One of the present chiefs headed towards him and stopped.   
  
"Chief Mutou" the chief introduced himself and smiled at the graduated officer.   
  
The chief was short compared to Ryou, had the strangest haircut (his hair stuck on end in some edges) and got the most interesting pair of purple eyes.  
  
Ryou bowed respectably and flashed the shorter chief a smile. He wondered why the chief was standing next to him.   
  
Was it because he wanted to comment about his long, white hair?   
  
He just couldn't bear cutting his hair. He'd kept it long for a long time and... no one minded it until he'd reached his teenaged years. The reasons for keeping his hair long were quite subtle.  
  
"You know, officer Bakura... you resemble someone I know..." chief Mutou began carefully and a smirk appeared on his face when he'd noticed the confusion flashing in the officer's eyes.   
  
"Who do I resemble if I may ask, sir?" Ryou asked curiously as he could fainrly recall a sudden dream or so he thought; the dream of seeing his twin.  
  
His wide brown eyes stared openly at the pair of purple eyes of the chief.  
  
The chief smiled and reached out his hand, seemingly want to shake hands with the officer. Ryou gave him a funny look, but automatically grabbed hold of the other's hand. Chief Mutou smiled broadly and shook hard.   
  
"I hope to see you next week at station 6, officer Bakura Ryou"   
  
Before Ryou could say anything, the chief had left him.  
  
The young officer blinked in confusion. What had just happened? What were the chief's true intentions to talk to him? Setting him up just to agree going to station 6?   
  
He furrowed his brows in thought. It didn't make any sense. There must be a catch...  
  
"Ryou-kun!!"   
  
He snapped out of his thoughts and smiled brightly. "Okaa-san! Otou-san!"   
  
GREAT! They didn't really forget.  
  
Click!  
  
A photo was taken when Ryou had kneeled on the platform and bended over to greet his parents.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
9:45 AM  
  
Someone snapped some more photos of Ryou. An unconscious smile appeared on the silhouette's face.   
  
When he thought he had taken enough photos of this particular officer he jumped down from the tree. The tree in which he'd been hiding just to watch the graduation ceremony.   
  
He hid the camera in his jacket and jogged away.  
  
"I knew it!"   
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
7:45 AM ~next week~  
  
Ryou looked up at station SIX's building.   
  
It had 5 stories and was apparently the smallest among the other buildings. With its unusual texture it bore an uncanny resemblance of... an elementary school, not counting the extremely expensive-looking windowpanes.   
  
The cold wind brushed past him, making him shiver involuntarily. It makes him wonder if he was stepping in some kind of creepy new life... like some stories tend to have.   
  
Ryou pulled his jacket tightly, embracing himself and walked into the station's grounds. He took a few deep breaths as he entered the building.   
  
Somehow the anxiety had gotten the better of him; he felt shaken already. Though there was actually no reason to be nervous, right? Right. It's just a meeting.  
  
He just hoped he wasn't late for whatever meeting chief Mutou had wanted him to come over for. But the chief never really mentioned a specific time so... it wasn't so bad, he hoped.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
7:50 AM  
  
Chief Mutou was grinning to himself as soon as he'd caught sight of the familiar white hair outside the station grounds. He looked at the officers who were currently stationed in his floor. They were all pretty much writing out their reports of their latest cases.  
  
"Officer Haku [2]! Ishtar!" he called out and motioned the said officers to come to his desk.   
  
"Yes, sir?" Light indigo [3] and brown eyes blinked as soon as the two officers were standing in front of the chief's desk.   
  
The chief was wearing a knowing look while clasping his hands together on his desk. Both officers detected the seriousness in their chief's stern gaze.  
  
"It's hard for me to say this..."  
  
The two officers looked confused suddenly, even though their faces were still safely blank. What's so hard to tell them? Was it about their investigation from last week?  
  
The chief's purple eyes darted to either one of them.   
  
"... agent Haku, I'm assigning you to a rookie while agent Ishtar will have to wait for a new replacement. I know it's going to be hard..." he explained, noticing the horrified lookes on both faces.  
  
"WHAT?!!" they shouted out in disbelief. Both of them were wearing the same furious look on their faces.   
  
How can this be?!!  
  
And the room went silent. Everyone was staring at their most quick-tempered officers from their floor, nervously. It was a very bad sign when both of them were angry at the same time. They might want to strangle someone, stab someone, punch someone, anything, after whatever discussion they were having with the chief.   
  
"IS THIS SOME SORT OF PUNISHMENT?!" officer Ishtar asked while gritting his teeth.   
  
It was unacceptable to be separated.  
  
"TELL ME WHY I'VE TO BABYSIT A ROOKIE?! AGENT ISHTAR AND I ARE WORKING QUITE FINE TOGETHER!!" officer Haku slammed a fist into the chief's desk.   
  
It was uncalled for to be separated.  
  
The chief watched them calmly, letting them explode first, and seemed unfaced by their anger even though some of the other officers were cowering under their desks.   
  
It's a something he took with stride. Something about being their Commanding officer: he was not afraid of his agents.  
  
"To put it mildly; no, it's not a punishment. I know you two work fine together. But your style of going under cover always seems to jeopardize our work. Even your personalities clash with your looks. That's why you, agent Haku, have to be assigned to this rookie" he explained as he faintly saw someone's shadow looming behind the door to his floor.   
  
As if in cue, someone knocked timidly on the door. Perfect timing!  
  
The two furious agents didn't acknowledge the polite knock. The other officer, however, did look up at the sudden interruption. The door was slowly opened as the other officers including the chief were looking at the new person...  
  
Agent Haku was clenching his fists together. How could the chief do this? Malik was the only one who knew him better than anyone of this station. No one seemed to be tough enough to handle his attitudes or mood swings once he got partnered... except maybe Malik alone. He refused to take care of a puny, little rookie. And agent Ishtar knew it! It's a bad idea to separate them.  
  
As soon as he heard the door creak open, his immediate reflex was grabbing for his hiddin dagger. Experiencedly, he flung it into the door's direction.   
  
Everyone held their breaths.   
  
THUMP.  
  
Their came no startled scream of pain... instead a thud, that told the agent, he'd thrown it at the wall. So the intruder had dodged his dagger?  
  
"This is officer Bakura Ryou, your new partner" the chief grinned, amused by agent Haku's sudden action.   
  
Bakura Ryou?  
  
Agent Haku spun around and stared in disbelief at the rookie.   
  
Long white hair, brown eyes...  
  
"Huh?" came the confused response from the rookie as he stared owlishly at the dagger in the wall and then the chief. What did the chief say? Partner? Whose partner?  
  
Long white hair, brown eyes... frightened brown eyes...  
  
Officer Haku had let out a noticeable gasp. IT'S HIM!   
  
Those whid brown eyes and the familiar long, white hair... were better-looking in person. It's HIM all right.  
  
Agent Ishtar stared in confusion at his best friend, Bakura, and then at the rookie, Ryou. They resembled each other a bit, he noticed suddenly. Although his bet friend looked more... rougher than the rookie. Something cracked inside of him once he'd noticed agent Haku's face had shown something familiar. Something which Bakura rarely showed. Respect.  
  
For the moment there agent Ishtar studied his best friend's face. Somehow he suddenly realized Bakura was... blushing.   
  
"You..." agent Haku had whispered, which was followed by a quizical look from the rookie.   
  
Huh?  
  
The chief laughed mentally when he noticed the disbelieving look on agent Haku's face. He understood why. It's because he'd the same look on his face as soon as Bakura Ryou was called on stage. The rookie practically resembled him... in a matter of speaking. He could tell that the rookie could outbalance agent Haku's rougher style and attitude.   
  
If only agent Ishtar wasn't so into his best friend... the chief sighed.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
8:20 AM  
  
Not long afterwards the chief spoke to officer Bakura and agent Haku in a more private room. He'd ignored agent Ishtar's firce glare as soon as he'd announced having a private meeting with the two. Even though he felt bad in agent Ishtar's case, he reminded himself that work was work with no strings attached.  
  
"Officer Bakura, I like you to meet your partner agent Haku Bakura. I'm quite unnerved by the same name usage and looks, but I guess it's not so bad. Most of your work will consist of writing paperwork and going unrecognized..." chief Mutou paused as he looked at either one of the officers in front of him.   
  
Agent Haku had shut down all his emotions from his face and so it seemed hard to say the least if he agreed with the partnering. The rookie, however, didn't seem to comprehend the whole situation. It was so confusing to him.  
  
His wide brown eyes and arched eyebrows made it clear that he let his emotions show on his face, naturally.   
  
"Uhm... sir, may I get permission to ask a question" Ryou started politely as he automatically raised a nervous hand. He'd picked up the habit from school and it never seemed to fail getting his superiors' attention.  
  
"Permission granted" the chief said curtly and wondered in what kind of family the rookie had been brought up. So polite.  
  
Of course nowadays one can just say youngsters are getting ruthless by the minute. The chief had no idea if this one applied to officer Bakura too.  
  
"Why am I supposed to be here, sir?" Ryou asked hesitantly and the frown deepened.   
  
Indeed the rookie had no clue why the chief had arranged a random meeting for him.   
  
The chief smiled slightly.   
  
"My method of getting some officers into my station is hearing out their examination scores or checking their appearances. In your case it's both of them.  
  
Once you've come up on the mentioned day or week I'd given you, you're by then accepted in this station. That's also how I'd gotten agent Haku back then" the chief explained all the while eyeing the rookie if he was paying any attention at all.   
  
Realization seemed to dawn on the young officer's face and immediately he blushed. He felt embarrassed for asking such a question. It's so obvious!  
  
Ryou ducked his head embarrassedly.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
8:30 AM  
  
In the middle of the busy city a bar was being disturbed. Glasses were thrown everywhere while chairs and tables were being destroyed with axes.   
  
In the dimly lit bar there were four people in maroon-colored business suits and one bartender involved.   
  
The first three men were putting as much damage in the little bar as they wanted. Passersby never bothered to step into the bar and stop them. They all had the same idea: a bar fight between drunks.  
  
It seemed to have become a routine. Crashes here and there in well-known bars.  
  
"Please... please, stop destroying my bar... no! NO, NOT THOSE!!" the bartender begged frustratingly as he tried to stop them. It was in vain attempt to stop this situation and so it went on and on.   
  
CRASH! CRACK!   
  
CRASH! CRACK!  
  
"Do you still question my motive?" the last man threatened as he glared down at the bartender through his dark sunglasses. He was probably the boss of the group.  
  
The man leaned casually over a high chair.  
  
"Please... please... stop it, please... what do you want?" the bartender whimpered helplessly as he squirmed uncomfortably under the scrutiny of those eyes behind the sunglasses.   
  
He would do anything just to stop them from putting the bar in fire itself. Of course, he could deal with bar fights; those drunks would pay for their damage eventually. But a sudden damaging in his bar was uncalled for.   
  
He could tell they weren't going to pay for the destroyed bar as soon as they'd gotten him where they'd wanted or... planned even.   
  
It might cost a fortune to repair everything. The bar was a total mess.  
  
The bartender went on his knees and swallowed his pride. He'd to beg for the bar's dignity.   
  
A smile was spread across the man's face, the one whom the bartender was begging in front of. He felt proud already. It was too easy to break this particular bartender. He leaned closer to the pleading face. A malicious smile appeared on his face and he tapped lightly on the bartender's cheek.   
  
"It's easy, ne? Getting right to the point. I like this spot on which your bar had been built..." his voice trailed off as he noticed the other man's reaction.   
  
Waves of success swapt through his body when he saw the fearful eyes of the bartender widen.   
  
Good. The guy was luckily not stupid. He practically knew where this conversation would go if he'd given them either approval or disapproval. But either way why threaten him and his bar when this neighbourhood's far more explicit than the other areas of the city?  
  
Seeing as the bartender was deep in thought, the boss motioned to his minions to leave. He took one good look at the kneeling man and urged himself to snap the guy out of his unnecessary thoughts.   
  
He held the guy's chin, tilted the man's face and did the unthinkable to horrify the bartender. [4]  
  
!  
  
*.*.*.*.* End chapter 1 *.*.*.*.*  
  
Endnotes:  
  
1: ^^; I just made that one up. I've no idea if that's true.   
  
2: Those who'd read "Haima" might already have an idea who's this person. Those who hadn't, I can just safely say it's Yami Bakura. Seeing as this is AU, it's not a crime to make up a family name for him, is it? ^-^   
  
Though it might be confusing with Bakura Ryou in the story. So... if I just say Bakura or agent/officer Haku, I mean Yami Bakura. If I say Ryou or officer Bakura or rookie, I mean Bakura Ryou. Get it? Okay.  
  
3: I always have this distinct thought about Malik's eyes being indigo. Don't you think?  
  
4: This part is a bit weird, but okay... just use your imagination.  
  
I like to thank those who'd read/reviewed the prologue. ^_^ Thank you!!! I apologize if your patience is wearing thin. ^^;; I'd already finished chapter 1 last year before Haima went to chapter 11 or so. O.o Hehehehe... sorry, I was quite a bit unsure of some scenes in this particular chapter.   
  
Of course the title sounds a bit weird. But the meaning of the title is derived from a pretty interesting word, which is at the same time also a derived word for a pretty gem.   
  
I guess that must be the problem. lol. I'll try to find another title if it's still a bother. ^-^  
  
=^_^=cin 


	3. Chapter 2: Mission 250

Title: Aventurien  
  
Author: Nekocin  
  
Email: Neko_cin_6@hotmail.com  
  
Genres: Various--- Action and Romance as main genres (I hope Romance wouldn't be so screwed up .).  
  
Type: AU   
  
Anime: Yu-gi-oh   
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai (might get a bit yaoi . Don't know yet.) Violence. Maybe some OOC. Here in this chapter bad description, vague stuff, OoC-nes, time lapse *starts naming off a lof of disturbances from a list*.   
  
Pairings: Yami Bakura+Ryou/Ryou+Yami Bakura and some others implied. Here in this chapter hints of Malik+Yami Bakura. Use a maginifying glass ^_O  
  
Rated: PG-13, but might get R ::shrugs:: (See "Haima" too)  
  
Disclaimer: Anime in question doesn't belong to me. Never was. Never will. (My poor excuse for writing a disclaimer)  
  
Additional notes: Side-fic 1 to "Haima"  
  
Author's notes:   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 2  
  
8:30 AM  
  
The officers in the room scurried far away from a certain angry platinum blonde-haired teammate except for one of their best officers; officer Yuuki.   
  
Agent Ishtar's aura was practically radiating bloodlust. Everyone seemed to get an idea why he was angry and tried not to come into his way. Only agent Yuuki was unaffected by his fellow-officer's anger. He just sat next to agent Ishtar and dutifully passed him some more folders and reports.   
  
Within blinding rage for being separated from his partner, agent Ishtar was working quickly on his paper work. The pen just flew across the surface of the paper, racing down the lines. His fingers were slowly turning purple red, because of his death grip on his pen. If one had looked closely agent Ishtar's eyes were clouded with unshed tears and... fire.   
  
Why must Bakura be separated from him? Why didn't kachou assign the rookie to someone else? Someone like agent Yuuki maybe?   
  
Why Bakura? The guy was practically very rough whenever on mission. He could scare the rookie shitless. Bakura wasn't even a people-person... and neither was agent Yuuki.  
  
Suddenly the phone at his side rang.   
  
Malik had been writing so furiously that the rings had startled him. He'd flung his pen away by accident and quickly grabbed the phone. Startling an angry person like agent Ishtar wasn't calming his raging temper.  
  
"Hello, agent Ishtar speaking,"   
  
His face was screaming anger while his voice sounded quite composed. No one seemed to be surprised by that little talent. As far as his fellow-officers knew, he could control his voice better than his temper. It was kind of amazing too, since he was quite good in that field.  
  
The rage immediately vanished from his face and a neutral face was on.  
  
"We'll be right over," switching to his business voice and after that he hung up.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
8:55 AM  
  
The chief had dismissed them after their private meeting. He was secretly glad that agent Haku had kept his temper in check in front of the rookie. At least the agent had shown some interest to the young officer unlike most of his hot-tempered and difficult older agents.   
  
Agent Haku had given constant curious glances to the oblivious rookie, with awe written in those narrowed brown eyes. Somehow the chief had this sneaking suspicion that both of them had already met before. Probably at school or something.  
  
... Nah.   
  
He just hoped that he did the right thing splitting those two up, referring to the Haku-Ishtar pair.   
  
Agent Ishtar could do a better job without being influenced by agent Haku's rough working style. While officer Bakura could somehow outbalance Agent Haku's personality.  
  
Chief Motou sighed and rubbed his temples.  
  
"Officers these days are so...," resistant.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Agent Haku was leading the rookie down the hall. He felt bewildered, confused. And unspoken happiness swirled in his chest. It was just too good to be true. Finally he met the rookie face-to-face. The one from his past... probably.  
  
Occasionally the agent would look over his shoulder, hoping that the rookie was really behind him. He felt giddy all the way. And why the hell wasn't he starting a conversation?   
  
He cleared his throat and turned around to face the rookie.   
  
What was he going to say to the rookie anyways?   
  
The younger officer stopped in confusion and hesitantly looked at his new partner. His eyes met those steady and yet familiar narrowed brown eyes. He blinked.  
  
"Yes, sir?," he squeaked out.   
  
He felt edgy when the agent had pulled the dagger out of the wall. Somehow he felt danger. Ryou got worried. It wasn't really like that. He just felt a bit uncomfortable, he hoped. It was somehow a bad sign that his partner as his superior was the cause of the feeling tingling anticipation in his spine.   
  
But the question was why... were it those eyes? So familiar... so dangerous.   
  
Seeing the rookie's anticipation, Bakura sighed mentally.   
  
Of course, he's still the tough guy of the station. No one could break the barriers around his tough guy act. His best friend Malik maybe, but the rest of the police population either ignored him or challenged him or were afraid of him.   
  
He wasn't going to go soft on him. It would ruin his reputation as the all-round tough agent.   
  
Second to agent Yuuki, he added bitterly in thought. That agent could never lose his cool composure. Yuuki brushed everything off like a small breeze of wind. The guy practically threw all his energy into the police business and never lose his cool. Hmmm... he wanted to be there when Agent Yuuki would really crumble.   
  
"Since today's your first day I'll go soft on you... ," agent Haku started and saw a flicker of suppressed relief through the rookie's eyes. He could almost imagine how the corners of the rookie's lips would lift up in a careful smile. Agent Haku imagined how the smile would be like if the rookie meant it.   
  
Enough imagining!  
  
"- however, that doesn't mean I'm always going to be like that. So keep that in mind," he added roughly.   
  
The agent flinched inwardly when he noticed the tone in his voice was just a bit too rough on the edges. He really didn't intend on sounding that commanding or even threatening.  
  
Ryou gulped and nodded quickly.   
  
Before he could continue another voice cut him off.  
  
"Bakura!! We've a mission downtown!," a very excited, platinum-blonde officer approached them. He immediately launched himself onto Bakura and with a grin he started babbling.   
  
Agent Haku didn't seem surprised by the sudden appearance. It was like a routine. Agent Ishtar received a call and would immediately be the first one who's enthusiastic about it. No matter what. And agent Haku was always the one hearing the endless enthusiastic chatter of their new investigation.  
  
Ryou watched the two quietly. He couldn't quite grasp what kind of bond his new partner had with the other officer. Maybe they were in some sort of deep relationship. It felt awkward to assume that. Friends and police partners don't really launch themselves onto the other like that...   
  
"Calm down, calm down, Malik," agent Haku said and reassuringly rubbed the other's back. The other officer took a few deep breaths and smiled up at his best friend.  
  
"Now tell me... calmly ," Bakura ushered and sent Ryou a quick glance.  
  
"Mission 250, Bakura!," agent Ishtar announced and received a quizzical look from the rookie.  
  
"Come on! Come on! Let's investigate," Malik exclaimed excitedly and pulled on to agent Haku's wrist. The latter looked blankly at his best friend. Had he forgotten they weren't partners at the moment? So soon?  
  
"Why don't you take officer Bakura along. Maybe you can teach him some moves or something," the chief interrupted and the three officers turned to look at the chief, surprised.  
  
"But Kachou, he's just a rookie ," agent Ishtar whined and let go of his best friend's wrist. "Rookies aren't allowed to go into the streets within a few months,"  
  
The rookie was at a loss. He'd no idea whom he must follow. He's a rookie indeed. He needed to do the office work. That's true. But under the chief orders he could go, right?  
  
Agent Haku looked at the chief, hoping that maybe just maybe... what?  
  
"I thought you two should catch up. since you won't be working together," the chief said pointedly to both agents.  
  
Ryou watched as agent Ishtar's face turned angry while agent Haku's face was carefully veiled under a cool face.  
  
Agent Haku sighed mentally. This was going to be very... bad.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
9:25 AM  
  
Ryou was sitting on the passenger seat and curiously peered at the two older agents at the front seat. After the chief's suggestion the three headed out into the city. He stayed quiet the whole way. Silence might do some good in this tension.  
  
Agent Ishtar and agent Haku were both quiet during the whole drive. Ryou could tell there was this uncomfortable silence between the two agents and wondered if he was the cause. He hoped not: he didn't do anything wrong, right? At the back of his mind he silently wondered what they were going to do.  
  
  
  
Bakura looked cautiously at his ex-partner from the corners of his eyes. He could tell his best friend was angry from the way he was gripping the wheel.  
  
The angry aura, which was radiating from his best friend's body, felt uncomfortable. Bakura wondered why Malik was so upset about their separation.   
  
Somewhere something at the back of his mind told him it was more than just business. He would ask Malik later once they were out of their respectable uniforms.  
  
He absently wondered about the rookie. Why did he choose to become a police officer? How did he cooped up with the past that had probably traumatized him grandly?  
  
Somehow he could feel that the awkwardness between him and Malik was affecting the young officer.  
  
  
  
Anger still boiled inside of him. He didn't quite know to whom the anger was fixed: himself, kachou, Bakura or the rookie. He gripped the wheel tighter, ignoring the fact he was hurting his hands.   
  
Maybe it was unfair of him to be angry for the moment. Maybe it was unfair to bring the rookie into his anger besides he bet the younger officer had no idea why he was angry. Maybe it was also unfair to be angry with Bakura. His best friend hadn't done anything wrong. And besides it was actually his own fault he'd not taken the chance of telling Bakura what's the matter.   
  
He sensed he should be honest with his best friend afterwards.  
  
The agent drove them towards one of the dangerous areas in the city.  
  
*~*~**~*~  
  
9:30 AM  
  
Back at station 6, peace had settled down among the officers.   
  
They were relieved that either agent Haku or agent Ishtar hadn't worked their anger out on any of them. It wasn't a good thing to be in their way at that time, but they all do agree both agents had potential.   
  
Agent Yuuki was standing next to the chief's desk, showing the chief his latest report.  
  
"Sir, last week's case, file 312, there are a few 'holes'. Evidence showed that either way our suspects might have been lying about their situations that day. Shouldn't we preview the whole crime scene? It's not like the case has been closed," agent Yuuki explained as he pointed out a few available statistics of their last case.   
  
The chief looked over agent Yuuki's report. Yami's neat handwriting practically stood out like disciplined letters in an army. The chief furrowed his eyebrows and looked thoughtful for a while. It wasn't like his agent to be wrong, in fact it was just... How the hell hadn't they notice it before? Either of their suspects must have done something-  
  
RING!   
  
The phone on the chief's desk rang. Agent Yuuki looked at the telephone and then at the chief. He noted that kachou was ignoring the caller.  
  
"Hello, officer Yuuki speaking," The agent took it up on himself to deliver whatever message the caller would hand over to the chief. So he answered the phone instead while looking at how kachou kept frowning.   
  
Maybe they should really press charges or something on their suspects for their lies and their actions.  
  
In the background he heard someone take a deep breath.   
  
Yami frowned in confusion.  
  
"Hello? To whom am I speaking?," He spoke carefully and wondered what's with the silence.  
  
"May I speak to chief Mutou, please?," a wavering voice squeaked out.   
  
Yami strained his ear to hear the words better.  
  
"I'm sorry, chief Mutou is busy right now. Do you want me to deliver a message or some sort?," agent Yuuki spoke confidently, not really caring who was at the other line.   
  
Maybe it was one of those prank calls. The person on the other end let out a startled gasp or something around the lines. It made Yami think that the guy might be contemplating whether to prank the officers during working hours or not. Heh! Teenagers these days... Yami sighed mentally.  
  
"Tell him that he needs to go to the hospital nearest to station 12," a tint of sadness emphasized the voice that came through the phone. Yami's frown deepened. Whoever was at the other line was quite one good actor.  
  
"Alright I'll tell him that but please may I know who is calling?," Yami deadpanned and suddenly looked smug. Most prankcallers would just hesitate, give a stupid name or hang up on him.  
  
"Mutou Yugi [1]. I apologize for not trusting you with the actual message, agent Yuuki,"   
  
Mutou Yugi? Had he heard of that name before? Yami frowned at the chief. The chief's name was Mutou.  
  
"Do you want me to reconsider?," Yami blurted out in confusion. Somehow there was something about this Mutou Yugi that made him think of his commanding chief self. Hmmm... was it because of their same family name?   
  
The line went dead.  
  
"Kachou, do you by any chance know someone by the name 'Mutou Yugi'?,"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
9:35 AM  
  
"So tell me what's the deal here?," Agent Haku said sternly as he looked down at the injured bartender.   
  
Thanks to Malik's driving skill, they'd reached their intended destination in just a few seconds.  
  
The bar was a complete disaster: broken shards here and there, broken tables and chairs, half destroyed alcohol shelves, flickering damaged lights...  
  
Even the bartender looked like a mess. His clothes looked rather tattered, stained with alcohol and dried blood. It seemed the ones who came to damage the bar hadn't left the bartender go without a scratch.   
  
Agent Ishtar was standing nearby with his arms crossed as he silently watched the bartender's pain-stricken face grimace.   
  
The rookie, Ryou was looking around at the mess, horrified by the damage. Who did this? Especially who was responsible for this... this...  
  
Ryou looked sadly at the bartender, who was brokenly trying to answer his new partner's questions.  
  
"They... they... want me to give up my bar...,"  
  
"What are they after for? They could've just bribed you or something,"  
  
"I know... but, but... they only told me about this bar having a good spot. I don't know what they mean by that,"  
  
Both agent Haku and agent Ishtar raised eyebrows and shared a look. Ryou just looked on, not really understanding the contemplative look.  
  
"Come on, please. You've got to help me... these... these guys are... are...,"  
  
"Seems like our guy," agent Ishtar commented, ignoring the bartender's frantic please. Agent Haku nodded absently as he looked around at the damaged place. He'd narrowly missed the fleeting worried look on the rookie's face and, immediately whipped his head aside.  
  
"Have you called your Insurance company?,"  
  
The bartender blinked. "Huh?,"  
  
"You need to compensate your damages, right?,"  
  
"But what about- ,"  
  
Before the bartender could continue agent Haku had turned away already, a sign that he was finished.  
  
"It's like our case last week," agent Haku murmured as he headed for the exit with agent Ishtar by his side.  
  
"So, he's our guy then," agent Ishtar pointed out.  
  
"Hey, are you guys still going to-," the bartender called after them, but was immediately cut off by pain. He doubled over with an arm over his stomach, wincing involuntarily and squeezed his eyes closed. Those bastards had...  
  
Ryou was about to follow the agents to the exit, but hesitated. He glanced worriedly at the bartender and bit his lip unconsciously. Seeing as the injured bartender had more injuries than the naked eye could see. Ryou instinctively kneeled by his side, supporting the other.  
  
"Let me see...," he whispered tentatively as he slowly pulled away the man's arm.  
  
"You should've called for an ambulance," he added as he peeled away the red-stained shirt carefully. The man's breathing was short and ragged but he didn't comment on the rookie's point. Ryou took a look at the wound.  
  
"Oh my...," His eyes widened.   
  
*.*.*.*.* End chapter 2 *.*.*.*.*  
  
Endnotes:  
  
1: Nya, there! ^_^ I'll go further on to this matter in "Fluere" [Another side-fic to "Haima" only more Yami+Yugi-centric]  
  
Too much dialogue x_x This chapter was short since the last part came much later when I wrote this chapter. The flow is kind of broken because of the countless boring dialogue.  
  
I like to thank those who'd read/reviewed the previous chapter. ^_^  
  
Misura: Don't worry, I'm open about that part. So you can think whatever you want. ^///^ I'm touched. Thank you for reviewing.   
  
And the reviewer from Mediaminer.org ^^;; Sorry. I forgot your name and couldn't get to mediaminer.org since it was sort of down at the moment. Thank you for reviewing ^_^ I'm touched.  
  
=^_^=cin 


	4. Chapter 3: Under Layers

**Aventurien  
Author:** Nekocin  
**Genres:** General, slight Action and slight Humor  
**Warnings:** possible **OoC**, **OC**, a bit repetitive  
**Pairings:** here... slight hints of "**hetero**" Note the "..." sign  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Disclaimer:** Anime in question doesn't belong to me. Never was. Never will. (My poor excuse for writing a disclaimer)  
**Additional notes:** **Side-fic 1** to "**Haima**"  
**Author's notes: **I apologize for the delay. I'd been stuck with chapter 3 for a long while... but here it is. I guess I couldn't handle a lot of things like for example my enthusiasm I get whenever I'm watching a new anime that you just can't help but be pulled in, or read fanfiction from other fandom and so on.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Under Layers  
**  
**7:15 AM - Wednesday  
**  
Ryou was watching his older partner and Officer Ishtar take off their blue uniforms. He passed officer Haku a sleeveless, black vest and a black bowtie, he then passed a cheap-looking coat to officer Ishtar.

Both older agents dressed in silence, neither looking at one another. It didn't take long before Ryou was staring at both agents, impressed; they probably could blend into any crowd with that sort of talent.

"Now remember your position. Officer, you stay in the car, try not to look too suspicious-" agent Haku had turned to Ryou, giving him a stern glare. Ryou swallowed unconsciously and nodded obediently.

The agent was dressed finely in a bartender costume; long white-sleeved shirt under the sleeveless, black vest, and a nice pair of black trousers. His hair was pulled back in a pony tail, while the corners of his eyes had been carefully lined under layers of some sort of ash color to make agent Haku look like a bartender who hadn't been sleeping in the past few nights.

Agent Haku turned to his ex-partner, unreasonably giving him an even eviler glare. "-and you! Go sit in the darkest place you can find. Preferably an invisible one"

Agent Ishtar didn't even flinch at the look; he's probably used to them, Ryou mused. It's rather uncomfortable to be glared at... agent Ishtar's so strong. He wanted to be strong too, to be competent in his older partner's eyes.

"Can I change posts instead, sir?" Ryou blurted out. He carefully kept his face neutral and looked up at his older partner challengingly. Officer Haku hadn't wanted him to be part of this case, Ryou could tell that from Officer Haku's hesitancy when he laid down their roles...

**XXX Flashback XXX  
**  
_"Haku-sempai! Ishtar-sempai!" Ryou called out, feeling helpless as he frantically looked for any clean cloth among the rubbish in the bar._

Nothing.

He didn't know what to do and looked back at the injured bartender. After debating whether to be helpless or helpful, he made up his mind and immediately slid off his uniform, leaving his white undershirt on.

Agent Haku came running into the bar, clutching his revolver, with agent Ishtar close by. Both scanned the bar's interior for any threats and at last, they found Ryou in a white shirt, kneeling near the bartender. Agent Ishtar scowled.

"What's the meaning of this?"

Officer Haku didn't say anything; he just walked up to Ryou and observed the current situation; Ryou had used hus uniform to keep the bartender from losing more blood.

"He needs some medical attention, sir! The wound is fatal. I estimate he's been losing blood for about half an hour or so" Ryou pointed out, mentally pleading the more experienced agents to get the hunt and do something! Agent Haku merely raised his eyebrows.

"Call an ambulance, Malik!"

Ryou winced at the tone as he pressed the crumpled uniform harder on the wound, earning a painful groan from the bartender. He did not like his situation one bit, especially when his partner sounded annoyed.

So he turned his attention to the ailing bartender.

"Don't close your eyes. Fight the fatigue! Stay awake! You're going to be fine..." he repeated softly a few times, silently glad that his soothing voice didn't break; he felt his nerves going wild.

Maybe because he sensed something bad was going to happen.

... maybe because he's just new in this...

... or maybe, he shouldn't have chosen for this job...

**XXX  
**  
After the bartender was taken away, agent Haku had immediately laid down his plan. It didn't seem like they had much choice, considering the fact that the victim was announced to be in need of advance medical treatment.

"I'll take the bartender's post, while you, Malik, are my silent costumer. We'll hammer them to plates if we need to. And they'll never know what hit them. Officer Bakura..." Agent Haku hesitated a bit, flicked his eyes to his right and then left, thoughtfully, but continued anyway.

"... you stay in the car and observe those who come in and out. Anyone suspicious. just report and wait for my further instructions, all right?"  
Agent Haku had given him a harsher look that somehow reminded Ryou of the warning looks mothers of his neighbours used to wear whenever their children did something "very, very bad."

Ryou had frowned, but nodded obediently instead.

His older partner's crazy; using just two officers as his backup when Ryou, himself, knew they were outnumbered he just had this feeling they were going up against **-something-** big!.

He's worried.

The hesitant tone ,in which agent Haku had spoken when his role was announced, made Ryou worry even more. He concluded that agent Haku must have had the same conclusion; they were outnumbered indeed.

And most of all, he was actually the weakest of the three, which made matters much worse... much worse.

**XXX End XXX  
**  
"No"

Agent Haku glared. He glared at his younger partner.

How dare the rookie ask for something fatally dangerous when it came down to playing the parts?  
He'd thought officer Bakura was smart enough to notice their handicap in this crooked plan.

Letting officer Bakura take the outside post, was the safest and the more effective role Bakura could think of.  
The rookie could call for more back-up without being noticed or captured.

Officer Bakura sighed, after hearing the answer and smiled ruefully instead of provoking him.

There's something disturbing about the rookie's smile... Bakura narrowed his eyes. He couldn't really tell what's actually going through officer Bakura's mind.

He dismissed it for politeness and obedience. From the corners of his eyes, he witnessed Malik's triumphant look...

"Enough already! Let's go wild!"

* * *

"Ooh, I've always wanted a daughter"

"'kaa-san!"

"Tee-hee, just kidding! Why are you doing this again?"

"Sempai wanted me to change the clothes. I'd be a dead giveaway if I'm playing my part"

"But still... why this...?"

"I thought it would make me look less strong and more fragile"

"Wouldn't it be a bit dangerous? Especially when this one looks too long on you. It's also very old, probably older than I think it is"

"No. Don't worry about it, 'kaa-san"

Something was ripped.

"**gasp** My clothes!"

"I'm sorry, 'kaa-san. You'd given me the idea to make them less long and less old"

"GRRR, You-!"

"Ehehehe, I'm just kidding, 'kaa-san"

Mother let out an uncharacteristic giggle.

"You would make such a cute daughter! **happy sigh**"

"'kaa-san!"

"Hihi, let me apply the make-up for you"

* * *

**8:45 AM - Friday  
**  
Bakura, as the bartender, was carefully cleaning the counter, while his eyes darted to the entrance, occasionally. He'd tidied a bit of the damaged bar -broken chairs, broken glasses and bottles were replaced-. Maybe it was never said to him, he would make such a good carpenter and house cleaner...

His part-, no, ex-partner should have be here right now.

As if on cue, Malik entered the bar, headed to the bar counter and ordered one of the available alcohol drinks. His face was perfectly straight and indifferent -no sigh of having recognized Bakura, except for the twinkling of excitement in Malik's pale indigo eyes-. The part as a usual alcohol drinker was professionally played, as expected from Malik.

The plan was to wait for the assaulter to wreck the place all over again, since the damaged place was still opened for regular costumers and newcomers. This might lead the assaulter thinking that the bartender's ignoring his warnings.

Same old trait, same old routing, Bakura smirked inwardly. This under cover business was getting boring by the minute. If only agent Yuuki was around to spice up the atmosphere...

A few regular costumer had given him puzzled looks, but didn't react to the noticeable damaged bar. They were probably more surprised to see a new bartender here than seeing the damage. Bar fights must have been on regular bases that they didn't even raise their eyebrows in question at the still damaged part of the bar.

Bakura sent them a short 'fake' smile and took their orders silently. All the drinks were alcoholic.

"A glass of soda water with lemon on top, please" the only woman in the bar had ordered politely with a soft, cute accent in her mellow voice.

Bakura nodded absently and poured the drink in a glass. Something nagged at the back of his mind as he passed the glass.  
His eyes darted to the bar entrance automatically. He narrowed his eyes.

"I have never seen you around here before" one of the five costumers, who'd just entered the bar, commented cheerfully while giving him a threatening look at the same time. He must be the leader, considering the fact that all the others were looking elsewhere instead of at the bartender.

"I'm just filling in for my... uncle" Bakura answered neutrally and grabbed the nearest glasses to clean. He purposefully did not look the leader in the eyes; he didn't want to blow his cover.

Somehow the remaining costumers sensed danger coming hand in hand with the grand entrance of suspiciously clad people, and immediately scurried out of the bar which is a very sensible thing to do, Bakura thought.

"Your uncle, huh? Fine. Then you must have already heard of me too"

Bakura stopped cleaning.

"No, sir" he answered in a subdued tone and resumed his cleaning.

"Taki"

Bakura paused in his cleaning, again, to blink convincingly confused at the suspicious leader.

Taki? Taki Houjin from the Underworld Fire Heaven? Or was it the cousin Taki Satoshi, the notorious drugs dealer from the West border of the city? Or was it Taki Tetsuya, the** _-sick-_** organ dealer? None of the three Takis Bakura had heard of, sounded appealing...

"Taki's my name. Taki, remember it" Taki flashed him another dangerous smile, and looked around as his smile turned into a grin; probably satisfied with the damage.

"I see your uncle hadn't done much to all the damage. What a pity..."

Bakura watched Taki leer at the only woman -the only costumer apart from Malik- who was sitting in the center of the bar. The lonely look on the lady's must have made Taki grin _-a foxy grin-_.

"Excuse me. The pretty lady is waiting to be accompanied" Taki's polite voice rolled out of his mouth so fluently that Bakura had to roll his eyes mockingly.  
The four men, presumably Taki's body guards, separated and went into different directions to 'protect' their leader, Taki.

Bakura stopped cleaning and carefully looked at Malik sitting at the very back of the bar. Malik stood up on cue, and trotted drunkenly towards the entrance...

"Can I have a seat here, my fair lady?" Taki began smoothly as he stood next to her table, shrugging on an air of nobleness. The lady was startled as she looked around in confusion, her wavy golden blonde hair framing her face teasingly, and then settled her attention back on Taki. She blushed easily.

"Uhm... sure..." Her soft voice sounded unsure and shy.

Taki looked pleased and took the seat across the lady's chair.

"So what brings you here?"

"... I'm ... looking for work, sir" The lady bowed her head shyly and hesitantly put down her glass of soda water she'd been holding.  
She looked like a direct target of attention; maybe she would be useful. _Young, cute, not so bad figure..._

"Still no luck, huh?" he prodded.

"...yeah..." Another blush.

"Hey! Why don't you work for me? there's a post open in my... eh... company"

"Really, sir? What does your company do?" The lady instantly snapped her head up and looked at Taki with huge glimmering eyes in wonder. She blushed even more and looked back down, playing with her long fingers nervously.

Taki paused in his thoughts, but kept his smile up.

"Anything that probably doesn't concern you" He smoothly laid his much bigger hand on top of her frail hand and squeezed lightly.

**_Bam!  
_**  
Taki was startled and looked over his shoulder. The hand under his, stiffened in surprise too. His body guards had immediately cocked their guns in position.

The entrance door was barred by a -what seemed like- a book stand.  
_What the-?  
_The bartender was leaning nearby against the book stand and gave him a challengingly look.

"So let's get to business" The bartender demanded. "What do you want with my uncle's place?"

Taki narrowed his eyes and fixed the bartender a half grin.  
"You're a smart kid, you know. Just figure it out by yourself... meanwhile..." Taki snapped his fingers in command. "... just enjoy your last few minutes of life"

**_CRACK! CRASH! CRACK! CRASH!  
_**  
His minions started to thrash the bar again. Bakura's eyes twitched.

"You're under arrest for public assaults and using guns in front of a lady" Bakura immediately cuffed Taki's left wrist.

On instinct, Taki kicked Bakura and pulled the lady to his chest, instantly holding a knife near her pale throat. The lady gasped in surprise and looked up fear-, no, pleadingly at him.

There's something familiar about this scene... _the past?_

"I dare you to move"

Before Bakura could react violently, two pairs of strong arms had grabbed him from behind and nearly crushed him in a near crucial bear hug. It didn't take him long to know his position was fatal, so he struggled viciously -he wasn't called the 2nd toughest agent of station 6 for nothing.

Punches and kicks were thrown into his way, probably breaking his bones as he let out gasps of pain.

"You've got some more spunk than your sissy uncle" Taki commented.

Bakura struggled effectively, he bit down the nearby minion in the ear and kneeing the other in the stomach and then the most sensitive part of any man's body.

"Take that, bastard!"

Where's Malik when you need him? Oh wait, that's not the right thought... he, Haku Bakura, did not need help. Malik was probably off rescuing the lady...

"I can take you all down with me if I have to" Taki flashed a satisfied smirk to Bakura's direction.

"You're Taki Houjin" Huh?

Surprisingly, that hadn't been Bakura's voice, much less Malik's... wait-, that voice was almost like-

"Head of the Underworld Fire Heaven... but you're not really him, are you?"

It's the hostage talking, even thought she's pressed against Taki's body as the knife slid closer to her neck, the hostage remained calm and at the same time, desperate.

She's no ordinary hostage, Bakura mused inwardly as he looked at Taki for any reaction.

The other did react... a bit over-dramatically startled. It seemed as if he'd forgotten the officer temporarily after the lady's revelation; Taki was leering predatorily at the lady.

"You are a smart girl. How exactly did you know which Taki, dear?" Taki sort of slithered his words out and pressed his cheek against the hostage's ear, increasing the intimacy.

"No one has ever seen Taki Houjin..." He smirked in satisfaction when he felt the woman's body trembling under the touch.

"For one thing, the ring on your left hand gave it away. It holds Fire Heaven's emblem" the lady answered confidently, breathing a bit harder as she looked down at the knife. She was terrified for a moment.

"... very smart..." Taki mused and licked one side of the lady's cheek, appreciatively.

She gasped and glanced at Bakura... Without warning the lady grabbed hold of the armed arm immediately, pushed the sleeve aside and bit down _-hard-_. Taki snarled out a pained grunt, but before he could recover, the woman had twisted his arm with great force and successfully threw him over her shoulder to the floor. She pressed a foot on Taki's neck and forced him to lie on his back, at her feet.

Bakura could only stare at the scene. It's not your every day you get to see a frail-looking woman forcing down an Under lord like Taki with her high-heeled foot near the other's throat...

"You're not the real Taki Houjin" The lady concluded out of the blue as she wiped her assaulted cheek in disgust.

Taki smirked enigmatically. "I guess I was never meant to exist"  
The lady frowned. She had no idea what he's trying to say, even if those words had somehow sound earnest.

As if it's his cue, Bakura took over the situation after recovering from the initial shock. "Let me take over this" Bakura told the woman. She complied and pulled her foot away.  
He cuffed the _-supposedly fake-_ Taki's other wrist and pulled him up from the ground. Bakura did not trust Taki's glazed eyes...

"My fair lady, could you grant me a small request for an unfortunate nobody like me?" Taki suddenly spoke up, politely. Bakura almost gagged at hearing those words; they did not sound like words that would come out of a Big Shot's, like Taki, mouth.

The lady looked suspiciously at him. "Who are you actually if you're not Taki Houjin?"

"I'm your lonesome wanderer. Now please, grant my request, oh fair maiden"

Bakura sent the flustered-looking lady an unreadable look. Where exactly is this heading? Wherever this was heading, he didn't like the glazed look supposedly fake Taki was giving the woman.

"I think you've just split his brains in several pieces. He's not thinking straight"

"... I-I see... I'm sorry" She blushed, embarrassed, and looked at the arrested man.

"Aa, don't be" Taki smiled at her. "Could you come a bit closer, my fair darling?"

The woman obediently complied and before she knew it, Taki had brushed his lips against hers. She immediately stiffened, her eyes widened in shock...

Fortunately, Bakura had pulled Taki away before the 'innocent kiss could get any more heated than needed.  
The lady was left standing rigidly as Bakura hauled the goofily-grinning Taki along.

As to where Malik actually was... during the confusion of attempting to arrest Taki, he was indisposed for a moment, when one of Taki's men had crashed a chair on top of his head. Bakura observed his unconscious ex-partner for a moment, looking for anything fatal wounds, but was satisfied of Malik's situation as of late.

Bakura fished out Malik's walkie-talkie and contacted the station for re-enforcements.

It's only when he turned his eyes back to the woman, did he know why he suspected the mysterious woman. The wavy golden hair was slid off of the woman's head, revealing suspiciously familiar silver-white hair... the rookie, Bakura narrowed his eyes. He suddenly found himself getting angry.

Taki, whom Bakura was still grabbing tightly, looked both surprised and excited at the 'new' look. "You're as beautiful as ever, my fair lady, even if you have those white locks!" He had commented cheerfully, receiving a blushing face from Ryou in response.

* * *

Malik watched as Bakura started chastising the rookie about almost getting himself killed by Taki. He literally started chewing the rookie off with deadly glares and biting remarks while Bakura flailed his arms around angrily.

Of course, being an older and more experienced agent, Bakura was given the responsibility of keeping officer Bakura alive during undercover cases like the one they had just had.

Malik sighed sadly as he scratched his bandaged forehead absently.

When he was still Bakura's partner, Bakura didn't chide him when he threw himself into danger's arms. It's because Bakura trusted him to stay alive for the time being until something like an invisible force steals his life away which wouldn't be happening any time soon.

But sometimes, just deep down, he had wanted Bakura to be mad at him for being so careless, for being an idiot. He had wanted Bakura to shake an angry fist in his face and threaten his life if he so much wanted to die so early...  
It made life much easier and much likeable with Bakura doing just that. It would simply mean that Bakura truly cared, that he truly wanted the best out of him...

He sighed again.

Agent Yuuki was looking at him with unreadable eyes from the sidelines, but didn't as much remark about their harsh behavior towards the newbie which Malik's glad for or else he would have done someone bodily harm.

And where the hell is Chief?

**End chapter 3**

**Endnotes:  
**  
**- "-sempai"** suffix behind the names of the people who are older, or more experienced than you.

I want to thank those who have reviewed the previous chapter and are still hanging around this story. I know the story doesn't make sense... maybe re-reading it again will help. I'll try to keep up the writing of this side-fic, seeing as how many plot bunnies, I'm currently planning, are shooting out like mushrooms! You just don't want to know how many I've planned; I even made a list of them... **:sweatdrops:**

**Thank you for reading!  
**  
**:smiley face:cin**


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